IES Kista, this year is a proud member of the Forskarhjälpen project conducted by the Nobel Museum. It is important to connect science to real life scenario.Through Forskarhjälpen, the Nobel Museum, want to give students an opportunity to research themselves, in a real research project. Students gain a deeper understanding of what a research project can mean, and the researchers at the same time get help with their research. Students contribute observations and collection of materials and data to an established research team working on a specific research project. It is funded by the Foundation for Strategic Research.

In order to be able to do a project that the students understand and can participate in, the teachers must research, simplify and be very good at explaining what is going to be done as a researcher. It is very useful, and with this internship-based combination of research and pedagogy, we give the students a strong experience and increased understanding of what research can be.

This year, students are working on the Spindel jakten project. Students went out to collect spiders around water bodies in Kista to check the level of chemicals(drugs) found in them. This will help the researchers to estimate the amount of chemicals found in the water bodies around us. This project is handled by two well-known researchers at Umeå University, Mr. Jerker Fick, and Mr. Tomas Brodin.

Students were really excited to take part in the project. They enjoyed a day trip around Kista to collect spiders and water samples. We will start the second part of the project in September next term and will also take part in a poster competition organized by the Nobel Museum with a number of other schools across Sweden. Best of luck to the Kista team!!